6:00pm Thursday 21st June 2012
Many thanks to all who attended the lighting of the Jubilee beacon at Barbury Racecourse on June 4. It was a remarkable event which could only have taken place with the help of the Barbury Horse Trials, Temple Farm Estate, many volunteers from the Marlborough Brandt Group and the Marlborough Area Board.
The event was crowned by the lighting of the 10-metre high beacon by Olympic gold medallist David Hemery with the assistance of our Mayor, Edwina Fogg.
As the flames rose into the sky, the full moon appeared and my mobile rang. It was Sandang Bojang in our link community of Gunjur in The Gambia to say that their beacon had been lit and how was ours. As a symbol of how we all belong to the Commonwealth and to a global community, it could not have been more compelling.
Our beacons at Barbury and in Gunjur were only two of more than 4,000 around the Commonwealth which must stand as a wonderful testament not only to the Queen but also to the strength of connecting communities.
Nick Maurice, Marlborough Brandt Group, Manton.
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